Review of Godzilla (1998) by Turner E — 14 Jun 2014

Man, I really need to review some good films. I've been mostly reviewing crap for the last few months. But I guess it's a little easier to find the flaws in a bad film then praise a great movie that every one has already talked about. But this time 'Im gonna keep it short. Godzilla is a train wreck. It's awful.

Basic plot is Matthew Broderick stars as a worm scientist brought in to help stop Godzilla. They do. He dies. No monster fight. No atomic breath. No fun.

The whole movie hinges on the buildup and reveal of Godzilla. The lackluster effects, poor designs, and odd size proportions (he somehow breaths underwater with no gills and is as tall as a skyscraper and somehow fits into the sewers). For all the buildup, his reveal makes porno film effects look amazing. Look at the effort in Jurassic Park five years before, and try to tell me this movie had good effects for its time.

All we are left with is bad characters and lame humor. I like Broderick, but who thought he would be good in an action film. He's a comedy actor. For such an action driven film, the choice of having Broderick as the lead is odd. The humor he brings isn't even that funny, as most of the jokes boil down to how he has a funny name and that he knows a lot about worms. Hilarious. And what's the emotional center of the film? The destruction left behind by Godzilla? The ethics of atomic experimentation? The destructive power of nature vs humanity? Nope, nope, and nope. It's the relationship between him and his ex-wife. Because it was apparently an unwritten rule in the 90's that a couple had to be divorced and then get back together in most action movie.

This movie is just a colossal bore, with no real depth or fun. I was a kid when I saw this and I fell asleep. So I don't have an lingering nostalgic love for it. Watching it again just reminds me of how much I wasn't missing out on.

* (out of 5).